Perjury and obstruction of justice conviction of a former Chicago police lieutenant, Jon Burge, has prompted U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis to introduce a bill Thursday that would make police torture of suspects a crime against humanity thus having no statue of limitation for prosecution.
Under the guise of law enforcement, Burge, as commander for the Brighton Park area, harassed, abused and tortured countless suspects over a twenty year period. Many of these suspects were actually innocent of the crimes they confessed to, including some who ended up on death row.
U.S. Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-7th, said he plans to introduce a bill Thursday that would make police torture of suspects a crime against humanity thus having no statue of limitation for prosecution.
“This bill will clearly define torture and make it a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison,” Davis said. “I have been working on this bill for several months to make it easier for prosecutors to go after those who torture others.”
He added that anyone still incarcerated should receive new trials to determine if any information was extracted illegally.
Jon Burge was convicted in federal court for lying during a 2003 civil case when asked if he ever participated or witnessed suspects being tortured at police stations during the 1970s and 1980s.
Prosecutors in this current case said he could not be tried for torture because the statue of limitation for such a crime had run out, even though there were witnesses willing to testify about such abuse.
At a Monday news conference Jonathan Jackson, a spokesman for the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said despite Burge’s conviction there are no winners in the case.
“It took 37 years to get him (Burge) to this point. And even though he was found guilty there are still several men still incarcerated for crimes they may not have committed,” Jackson said. “The taxpayers lost because they paid $50 million for his legal defense and now the trust many good police officers have earned is now broken.”
Read More: Chicago Defender
